


That's My Evil Twin

by samandbucky



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Angst, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Clint Barton-centric, F/M, False Accusations, M/M, Multi, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, evil twin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samandbucky/pseuds/samandbucky
Summary: Everything is going great for Clint. The Avengers are successful, saving the world one evil scientist at a time. Clint's in a good, solid relationship with the Avengers. He's going steady at SHIELD. Everything's good.Well, until Jarvis alerts Tony of suspicious video footage of Clint trying to steal one of Tony's suits of armor.But, how can Clint explain himself when he doesn't even know what's going on?
Relationships: Clint Barton/Everyone, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, OT6 - Relationship, Wanda/Vision mentioned - Relationship
Kudos: 16





	That's My Evil Twin

“Play it again, Jarvis,”

“Tony, we’ve seen the footage at least ten times-“

“Ten times isn’t enough, Steve!” Tony shouts as he looks over at the super-soldier. “I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight knowing that one of our has been betraying us this whole time. Clint. Fucking _Clint_.”

Steve sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. “What are we going to tell the others? They’re not going to believe us when we tell them the truth,” he mumbles.

“Truth about what?”

Tony immediately looks over when he hears the familiar voice and sucks in a deep breath when he sees that it’s none other than Clint himself. The very last person he wants to see right now. Tony scoffs, and shakes his head. “You talk, Steve. I can’t even look at him right now.” He shakes his head and turns away.

Clint frowns at Tony’s odd behavior as he looks at Steve. “Steve?”

Steve stares at Clint for a moment before sighing. “Did Jarvis send you down here?”

“Uh- Yes?” Clint replies with confusion. “I barely stepped foot into the building before Jarvis demanded that I come to Tony’s lab. I never thought that an A.I. could be so angry with me…”

Tony looks back over at Clint. “Cut the bullshit, Barton,”

“Tony,” Steve warns, glaring at the genius with warning. “Let me handle this.”

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Clint asks with frustration.

“You’re a fucking traitor!” Tony shouts, pointing angrily at Clint, ignoring Steve. “That’s what’s going on!”

Clint’s startled by Tony’s outburst. “How am I a traitor? I’ve done nothing-”

“Bullshit. Jarvis, play the clip again,” Tony demands, turning to look at the video footage. He crosses his arms against his chest as Jarvis brings up the footage once again.

Steve watches Clint carefully as he watches the footage of himself sneaking into Tony’s lab, one of Tony’s forbidden labs where absolutely none of the Avengers are allowed inside. It was a well-known rule, and Tony thought that everyone respected that rule until Jarvis informed them of the security footage of Clint sneaking into the lab to steal some of his equipment the previous night. 

“You better have a pretty good explanation for this,” Tony scoffs once the footage ends. He turns to Clint, who looks just as shocked and confused as Steve and Tony did when they first saw the footage.

“I-” Clint begins, blinking a few times. He looks over at Tony. “That’s not me. I-”

“What do you mean that’s not you?” Tony shouts, throwing his arms up in frustration. “It’s clearly you!”

“Clint, just be honest with us, Please,” Steve begs, though remaining calm, stepping closer to Clint, but Clint steps backwards. Steve frowns. “All we want is the truth. Why were you trying to steal from Tony?”

“I don’t remember that!” Clint shouts. “I literally have no recollection of that-!”

“Get out,” Tony demands, startling Clint. “Until you can be honest with me, I want you out of this tower.”

“Tony,” Steve’s eyes widen with shock as he looks over at the genius. “You can’t just-”

“It’s my tower,” Tony snaps, looking at Steve. “I get to decide who lives here, and right now, I don’t want liars and thieves living with me.” He looks back at Clint and glares at him.

Clint stares at Tony for a moment, before slowly nodding. “If- If that’s what you want,”

“That’s exactly what I want,” Tony replies angrily. “You have an hour to be out of here.”

Clint doesn’t say anything, he only turns around and makes his way out of the lab.

“God dammit Tony,” Steve mumbles before quickly following Clint. “Clint!” He runs up to him and grabs a hold of his arm. “Clint, wait.” He takes a deep breath when Clint refuses to look at him.

“I only have an hour-”

“I-” Steve begins. He hates that this is happening, and he almost can’t believe that it is happening, because this is so out of character for Clint. Steve doesn’t understand why he won’t just tell the truth. “Um, do- do you have a place to stay?”

“Yes,” Clint replies simply, pulling his arm away from Steve. He starts to walk away, but Steve quickly grabs him again. “Steve.” Clint lets out a sigh. “Let me go.”

“There has to be some sort of explanation for this,” Steve begs. “I don’t believe you would do something like this, Clint. Especially to Tony. You two are so close. You’re better than that. Please. We need you.”

Clint laughs darkly. “You don’t need me,” he scoffs. “Some even say you’re better off without me.” He yanks his arm out of Steve’s grip before quickly walking up the stairs.

Steve’s heart breaks as he watches Clint walk away from him, because this could actually be one of the last times he sees him, at least for a while. They finally just started settling down, him and the Avengers, finally started working things out with their little relationship. Then, this happens?

Not on Steve’s watch. He’s going to figure out what’s really going on.

Until then, he has to figure out how to explain to the others that Clint will be absent for some time.

Steve turns around and walks back into Tony’s lab. “I want answers,”

Tony startles at Steve’s sudden voice, and looks over at Steve. “Well, looks like you’re tough out of luck, since the traitor refuses to be honest with us,” he mumbles.

“No, I refuse to accept that Clint would just try to steal from you. That’s not who he is-”

“You’re forgetting that he does have a past with stealing. That’s what he and his brother did together, so it’s not really that surprising that he would try and steal from me, Steve. You just have to accept-”

“No,” Steve repeats, voice more stern. “Clint may have stealing issues in the past, but he’s changed, he’s one of us. I’m going to get answers. Until then, we have to tell everyone about the video footage.”

Tony sighs. “Yeah, that’s going to be fun. You can deal with Natasha. She’s going to be pissed,”

“Or she’ll also want answers like I do. She’s not going to give up so easily on Clint,” Steve mumbles.

“Well, excuse me, Steve. One of my teammates, one of my partners, has tried to steal from me. He went into my personal lab and tried to steal one of my suits of armor. So, excuse me for feeling a little betrayed. I’m just going by the footage that Jarvis showed me and how he reacted,” Tony mumbles.

“I know Tony,” Steve lets out a soft sigh, before gently placing his hand on Tony’s arm. “Come on then, let’s get this over with. I don’t want to wait to tell them.”

Tony groans, and then follows Steve out of the lab.

An hour later, and surprisingly, all of the Avengers are gathered in the living room after Steve calls for an emergency team meeting. Everyone but Rhodey, Thor, and obviously Clint, were present.

“What’s going on, man?” Sam asks as he looks at Steve. “Isn’t it a little late for a team meeting?”

“Where’s Clint?” Natasha demands. “It’s not a team meeting without all of its team members.”

Steve sighs, and looks over at Tony, who refuses to look at him. Steve looks over at the others. “Clint… um, we’re actually here to talk about Clint, Natasha. He won’t be present for this meeting. In fact, he uh-” Steve lets out a breath, preparing himself for the worst. “He’s going to be absent for awhile.”

“ _Absent_?” Natasha asks, slowly standing from the couch. “What do you mean absent?”

“Jarvis,” Tony begins, running a hand over his face. “Show them the footage.”

Natasha blinks a few times, and then looks over when video footage pops up in front of them. Tony doesn’t watch this time as the video footage of Clint plays, and he definitely doesn’t want to see the looks of his partners’ faces, because he knows they’re going to be just as upset as he is.

“This is a joke,” Natasha speaks first when the footage finally ends. “That’s not Clint…”

“Well, who else could it be, Nat?” Steve asks, trying to keep his voice soft. “None of us want to believe that one of our own would betray us. We’ve seen the footage hundreds of times. That’s Clint.’

“Have you talked to him?” Sam asks, looking over at Clint.

Steve nods. “We talked to him, Sam. Well, kind of. He refused to tell us the truth, or give us any answers, so Tony kicked him out of the tower until he can give us answers. I fully support Tony’s decision.”

Natasha shakes her head. “No, that’s not Clint. Clint would never betray us like that, especially not Tony,” she snaps. “I’m not going to be back until I have answers from Clint.” She storms out of the living room.

“Natasha!” Steve shouts, he goes to follow her, but Tony stops him. “Tony?”

“Don’t. You know she’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants,” Tony says as he looks at Steve. “Maybe she can get some answers out of Clint. She’s good at getting answers.”

“Who’s going to tell Thor?” Sam asks, standing up from the couch. “Rhodey?”

“I’ll handle Thor. I’ll try to contact him before bed. Tony?” Steve looks over at Tony. “Can you get a hold of Rhodey? I know he’s busy with the Air Force right now…”

Tony nods. “Yeah, I can get a hold of him. But, it might take a couple of days,”

“Okay,” Steve nods. “Shit. Fury is not going to be happy when he hears Hawkeye is off the team.”

“Fuck that. You can deal with Fury. I’ve already got enough shit going on,” Tony mumbles before turning and walking away without saying another word.

Steve sighs, and looks over at Sam. “Well, what are your thoughts about this situation?”

“Well-” Sam makes his way over to Steve. “I personally don’t think Clint would do something like this. That’s so out of character for Clint. He’s… been brainwashed before, correct?”

“You think this has to do with magic?” Steve asks, frowning.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just don’t want to believe that Clint would betray us, _Tony_ , like that,” Sam says. “Honestly, why would Clint need or want one of Tony’s suits? He has no use for them.”

“He doesn’t, you’re right Sam, but maybe someone else he knows has a use for them,” Steve suggests.

Sam scoffs, and shakes his head. “Clint knows people, but he doesn’t know people like _that_ ,”

“It’s getting late, and we still have a lot to do before bed. Wanna go call Thor with me?” Steve asks.

“Sure,” Sam shrugs his shoulders lightly, and then he follows Steve out of the room.

Clint heads straight to his old SHIELD apartment after being kicked out of the tower. It’s currently the only place he can live besides the Tower. Fury let him keep it just in case he needed somewhere to go.

Clint barely has any time to relax, or get anything unpacked, when he hears knocking at the door.

Clint sighs, already knowing who it is. But, he ignores the door, and places his bag on the kitchen table. The door slams open, but Clint doesn’t even startle. He looks over to see Natasha, just who he expected, standing in the doorway. “You really have to stop doing that,”

“Well, maybe you should answer your door and I wouldn’t have to,”

“How’d you know I’d be here?” Clint asks.

“Lucky guess,” Natasha replies with no emotion, before walking into the apartment and shutting the door behind her. She doesn’t say anything, but Clint already knows what she’s thinking.

“Just say it already,” Clint says, desperately wanting to get the interrogation over with.

“You’re not telling us something. So what is it,” Natasha demands. “You know I want answers.”

“Look, I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told Steve and Tony. I don’t have any recollection of doing that. Stealing from Tony is the last thing I would ever think of doing, and you know that,” Clint snaps, before taking a deep breath. “I don’t know what else to say, Natasha. I have no evidence that isn’t me.”

“You’re telling me you think you were influenced? Magic?” Natasha presses on.

“I don’t know!” Clint exclaims, startling to get frustrated.

Natasha frowns, and she walks closer to Clint. “I believe you, Clint-”

“Why?” Clint demands. “Why do you believe me? No one else did when I tried to tell them it wasn’t me.”

“Because, I know you, and I know when you’re lying or telling the truth,” Natasha tells him. “I don’t know how, but I’m going to prove that you’re innocent. Like you said, there’s no way you would steal from Tony. Not with how close you two have gotten recently.”

“What if it was me?” Clint asks. “They won’t want me back…” He swallows thickly as he looks up at Natasha with tears threatening to fall out of his eyes. He’s not one to get emotional, but he has a right. Someone is making him look like a bad guy here. The Avengers are the most important people in his life, and he doesn’t want to lose them. He’ll do everything he can not to lose them.

Natasha walks up to Clint, gently placing a hand on his arm comfortingly. “We’ll find proof,”

That’s all Clint needs to hear from Natasha to know she won’t give up on him.

Natasha stays with Clint until she feels he’ll be okay being alone. It’s nearly two hours later when she finally tells Clint that she has to leave. Clint clings onto her from where they’re cuddling on the couch.

“You don’t have to go,” Clint whines, earning a soft chuckle from Natasha.

“I do, if I want to get answers. I’ll be back soon. I promise, okay?”

“That’s what they all say,” Clint mumbles, looking up at Natasha with puppy dog eyes.

Natasha rolls her eyes, and gently kisses Clint’s forehead, before freeing herself from Clint’s grip. “Look, just stay here and lay low for a little while. Don’t talk to anyone if you don’t have to. We’ll figure it out, and you’ll be able to come home. That’s a promise. I don’t break promises.”

“I know,” Clint whispers as he looks up at Natasha, praying to God that she’s right.

****

It’s been a month since Clint has seen the footage of himself attempting to steal from Tony’s lab, and just like Natasha told him to, he hasn’t left his old apartment nor has he talked to anyone.

However, Fury is now getting frustrated with not knowing why his top agent isn’t clocking into work.

“Director Fury?” Steve asks when Fury storms out from the elevator, walking into the common room.

“Cut the bullshit, Rogers. Where’s Agent Barton?” Fury demands.

Steve freezes as soon as he hears Clint's name, and he’s just grateful that Tony isn’t around. “Look, uh- Director Fury… there’s- there’s been a little bit of a situation, and-”

“If there’s been a situation, why wasn’t I informed?” Fury asks angrily. “One of my agents is missing…”

“What do you mean?” Steve asks, tilting his head slightly.

“I mean, it’s been about a month and Barton has not shown up at HQ, and he’s not clocked in for work,” Fury says. “He’s one of my best agents, and when one of my best agents goes missing…”

“Director Fury, I can explain-”

Steve looks over and sees Natasha walking up to the two of them.

“Romanoff?” Fury asks. “I suppose if anyone knows where Barton is, it would be you.”

“Yes, Sir. I can assure you he’s not missing. I know of his location. I just didn’t know that he wouldn’t inform you of the situation, or not show up for work. He’s-”

“Pardon my interruption, but Sir is requesting your presence in his lab, Captain Rogers. It’s urgent,”

“Did he say why, Jarvis?” Steve asks, glancing over at Natasha.

“It’s urgent, Captain Rogers. You’ll want to go to the lab immediately,” Jarvis responds.

Steve sighs at Jarvis’s vagueness, and looks over at Fury. “You know how he gets…”

“Lead the way, Captain Rogers,”

Steve raises his eyebrows at Fury, before he starts leading the way to Tony’s lab.

When they get to Tony’s lab, Steve finds Tony watching the video footage. “Tony, come on,” he sighs. “What have we talked about? Watching that footage is not going to help with anything.”

Tony blinks a few times as he looks over. “What?” He shakes his head. “No, this is new footage…”

“What?” Steve asks, hurrying over to Tony. “You mean, he…?”

“I just woke up, and Jarvis immediately informed me of this footage. He’s done it again,” Tony snaps.

“Impossible,” Natasha says, frowning. “Clint hasn’t been at the tower in over a month. I would know, I’m the only one to bother to make sure he’s still alive after the way you idiots treated him.”

“Well, clearly he’s been lying to you, because-” Tony points at the footage. “This just happened again.”

“How long ago did it happen?” Natasha asks as she pulls out her phone, earning a confused look from Fury. “I’ll call Clint right now and find out where he’s at, and where he’s been.”

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?” Fury asks with annoyance.

“Barton’s a thief,” is the only thing that Tony says. “And he’s also a traitor.”

“Tony. Jarvis has video footage of Clint attempting to break into his personal lab to steal one of his suits,” Steve explains for Fury. “That’s why he’s been absent. Tony kicked him out of the tower, and we didn’t feel comfortable having him on the Avenger’s team until we got answers.”

“Time,” Natasha demands, glaring at Tony. “I want the time.”

“Alright, shit. It happened like a half an hour ago,” Tony tells her.

Natasha scoffs, and then she calls Clint. She waits a moment before Clint finally answers, and Natasha puts him on speaker phone so the others can hear their conversation.

“Yeah, what?” Clint asks when he answers, his voice sounding rather groggy and tired, like he hasn’t used his voice in days. It’s been a couple of days since Natasha’s last checked up on Clint, so this worries her. She knows how Clint gets when he doesn’t take care of himself.

“You’re on speaker phone. Don’t say anything stupid. Where were you thirty minutes ago?”

“At… my apartment?” Clint replies with confusion. He clears his throat. “Why are you asking?”

“That’s impossible,” Tony speaks up. “How can he be in two places at once? He’s lying!”

“Tony?” Clint asks, suddenly sounding more awake. “What the hell is going on?”

“Barton, as soon as we figure out this mess, you and I will be needing to have a talk with one another,” Fury speaks up as well, glaring at the phone in Natasha’s hand.

“Oh, shit. You’re there too?” Clint asks. “Sir, I can explain…”

“You two can chat later. How the hell is it possible that we have brand new footage of Clint trying to steal my shit again when he says that he hasn’t left his apartment,” Tony demands.

“It’s impossible. Unless he has a twin or something that we don’t know of,” Steve adds.

Tony’s eyes widen as he looks over at Steve. “I’m such an idiot,”

“Tony, don’t say that. You’re not an idiot. In fact, you’re a literal genius,” Steve replies quickly.

Tony rolls his eyes. “That’s not what I meant. I am an idiot, because I forgot that Jarvis can scan for ID’s,” he says. “I was too busy being angry with Clint that I forgot. Jarvis, I need a facial identification scan.”

“Of course, Sir. I will need a few moments,”

“Tony Stark you absolutely-” Natasha quickly stops herself. “I’ll call you back, Clint."

“Hey, wait-!”

Natasha hangs up the phone and glares at Tony. “I’m going to murder you,”

“I might let you,” Tony responds, seeming unphased by Natasha’s threat. “I forgot, okay? My mistake, and if this person turns out to not be Clint, I’ll head straight to him and beg for forgiveness myself.”

Steve frowns, and gently places a hand on Tony’s shoulder to comfort him.

“Sir, the facial identification scan is complete. Christopher Bennett Barton is the match,”

“Shit,” Tony curses. “Clint has a _twin_?”

“A twin that he clearly didn’t know about,” Steve groans. “I can’t believe we treated Clint so poorly.”

“In our defense, we didn’t know he had a twin a week ago,” Tony bites his lip nervously. “That’s no excuse for our behavior.” He turns to look at Natasha. “Nat? Can you bring him back to the tower.”

“I can try. But, it’s only a matter of if he wants to come back,” Natasha points out.

Tony takes a deep breath before slowly nodding. “We’re in deep shit,” he looks over at Steve.

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it,” Steve agrees.

Immediately, the group heads straight to Clint’s old apartment. Natasha has updated them on how Clint’s been handling the situation, and Steve is a little worried about what they’re going to find when they arrive, but he can only hope that Clint will forgive him and the others once they tell him what they’ve found.

“Is he even going to let us in?” Tony asks as he, Steve and Natasha stand outside of Clint’s door.

“Clint won’t answer the door for anyone. Not even me-” Natasha explains as she knocks on the door. They wait a moment, but there’s no answer from Clint. “Alright boys. Stand back.”

Steve and Tony glance at each other before doing as they’re told.

Natasha kicks the door down, and Tony can’t help but laugh, because he should have seen this coming.

Steve shakes his head, before following Natasha into the apartment. He looks over and frowns when he sees Clint leaning against the kitchen counter, pouring himself another drink. He looks way different, and Steve knows it’s been a month since he’s seen him, but still different from the last time he saw him.

Steve can only imagine that Clint hasn’t been taking the best care of himself the past month. He seems tired, and he’s probably lost a lot of weight from lack of eating, and Steve honestly just wants to run over to him and pull him into the biggest hug.

“You’ve been drinking,” Natasha is the first to speak.

Clint looks over, though he doesn’t seem phased or surprised to see them there. “Oh, it’s you. What did I tell you about kicking my door down?” He sighs, and stands straight.

“And what did I tell you about opening the door when I knocked?” Natasha asks.

“Well, to be fair, you did tell me not to talk to anyone and lay low, so if anything, I’ve only been answering to your orders,” Clint smirks, before taking a swig of his drink.

Natasha rolls her eyes, before turning to look at Tony. “Talk. You have some explaining to do,”

Tony sighs, and turns to look at Clint. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have accused you like I did without knowing the facts. I understand if you can’t forgive us right away. But, we know the truth now-”

“The truth?” Clint asks, tilting his head slightly with confusion.

“You don’t happen to know anything about having a twin, do you?” Tony asks.

“Uh, no? Not… that I know of?” Clint replies, seeming even more confused. “I don’t know of any twin. Uh, did you find out who the person was?”

“Christopher Bennett Barton,” Steve tells him, letting out a sigh. “We started doing some research on him. He… doesn’t seem to be a very good guy. He’s essentially a criminal.’

“You and your brother didn’t have a clue about your twin?” Tony presses on.

Clint shakes his head. “Never. But, to be fair, our parents died when I was pretty young so they probably didn’t have a chance to tell us, or maybe… they didn’t want us to find out,”

“Well, I don’t blame him. The guy’s a fucking pyschopath,” Tony mumbles.

Natasha instantly glares at Tony. “Watch it,” she warns, before looking back over at Clint. “Anyways, this is good news. This means you get to come back home. Right, Tony?”

“I mean, if you want to. Your old bedroom is waiting for you,” Tony says.

“You guys really want me to come back?” Clint asks.

“Clint, of course we do,” Steve says, walking closer to Clint. “We hated having to kick you out like that, and it’s been boring not having you at the tower. We want you to come back. Please?”

Clint bites his lip nervously as he thinks about the pros and cons of going back to the tower. “Sam?”

“He wants you back too,” Natasha tries to assure him. “He wanted to be here with us but he had some commitments at the VA. Wanda and Vision have been travelling, but they’ve been aware of the situation, and so has Thor. We all want you back, Clint.”

“Okay. Okay!” Clint throws his arms up in surrender. “You’ve made your point. I’ll come back.”

Steve sighs in relief, and immediately reaches forward and pulls Clint into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Clint. This shouldn’t have happened,” He mumbles, relieved when Clint relaxes into his hold.

“Well, it’s not any of our fault. We didn’t know that I had an evil twin running around,” Clint mumbles.

“I’m going to work with Fury on finding him. Now that we know who he is exactly, and that he’s active,”

“Oh fuck,” Clint groans as he pulls away from Steve. “Fury’s pissed, isn’t he?”

“Not as much, now that he knows what’s going on,” Natasha says.

“But that doesn’t matter right now,” Steve interrupts, gently placing a hand on Clint’s arm. “We’re going to grab your stuff and go back to the tower, and then I’m going to cook up a massive breakfast, and you’re not going to complain. I know you haven’t been taking care of yourself.”

“Come on, it’s really not that bad-”

“I wouldn’t lie if I were you. Jarvis is going to scan you as soon as you step into the tower,” Tony warns, smirking at Clint.

Clint scowls. “I hate every single one of you. Is it too late to change my mind?”

Natasha snorts. “Yes,” she says. “Now, let’s get going. We’ll worry about your evil twin later.”


End file.
